New GOP super PAC touts Deal in Ga.—Senate battle in Michigan: Whiskey and sled rides—CRNC backs four gov candidates—NRCC goes on the air in NY-01—Walker docs released in John Doe investigation

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FIRST IN SCORE—NEW SUPER PAC LAUNCHES TO HELP DEAL IN GEORGIA: Republican operatives in Georgia have formed a new super PAC to aid GOP Gov. Nathan Deal in his reelection bid this fall. The group, the Georgia Victory Fund, is what’s known as an “independent committee” in Georgia campaign finance — it can accept unlimited donations. On its list of advisers: Chip Lake, former chief of staff to Georgia GOP Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, will head the group; Stefan Passantino, a Newt Gingrich 2012 alum who works for the Atlanta-based firm McKenna Long & Aldridge will be the group’s legal counsel; and Claire Holloway, of Holloway Consulting, will head the group's fundraising effort. GVF will both tout Deal's record in office and attack Jason Carter, his Democratic opponent. While the Georgia state legislature is in session, Deal is unable to raise money; this group will work to help fill in the gap in the meantime. Deal has generally been considered highly favored to win reelection — but his handling of a snowstorm that crippled Atlanta last month earned him criticism from across the state, giving Democrats hope that he could be vulnerable in November. http://goo.gl/DT4YUu

PETERS, LAND FIGHT A TIGHT SENATE RACE IN MICHIGAN: POLITICO’s Manu Raju looks at the high stakes Senate race in Michigan between Democratic Rep. Gary Peters and his Republican challenger, former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land: “Peters is campaigning like a man with nothing — or perhaps, everything — to lose. His dead-of-winter barnstorming in a region with a mere 3 percent of the state’s population shows how critical Michigan has become in the battle for control of the Senate — and the lengths to which Democrats will go to turn out voters without a presidential election to spur them to the polls. … The state has all the makings of a midterm battleground. Though no Democratic presidential candidate has lost here since 1988, Republicans dominate statewide offices and control the Legislature. The last time Michigan sent a Republican to the Senate was when Spencer Abraham won an open seat in 1994, a midterm election with a Democratic president and a GOP governor running for reelection. That’s almost a mirror image of this year’s conditions. ‘I just absolutely believe that the Democrats don’t know what’s going to hit them here in a few months,’ said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), predicting that Obamacare would be a deciding factor in the race.” http://goo.gl/nOcPQJ

EXCLUSIVE—COLLEGE REPUBLICANS ENDORSE IN FOUR GOVS RACES: The College Republican National Committee will back four incumbent governors in their reelection bids later this morning, building on their efforts in races such as the Virginia one last fall. On the CRNC’s list of new endorsements are Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich—all Republicans elected in 2010 in blue states that voted twice for President Obama. “Several Republican governors are offering innovative policies to solve problems in their states that matter to young voters and the CRNC wants to highlight these successes,” said Alex Smith, the group’s president.

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Good Thursday morning and welcome to Morning Score. As always, send your tips, thoughts, and suggestions to eschultheis@politico.com or tweet them to @emilyrs.

RATINGS CHANGES: Sabato shifts Hawaii governor from “Likely Democratic” to “Leans Democratic”; moves Georgia governor and Kansas governor from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican”; and moves Nevada governor from “Likely Republican” to “Safe Republican.” Sabato also made changes in a number of House races: NY-18 moves from “Leans Democratic” to “Likely Democratic”; WV-03 from “Leans Democratic” to “Toss-Up”; CA-10, NV-03 and OH-14 from “Leans Republican” to “Likely Republican”; and FL-10 and KY-06 from “Likely Republican” to “Safe Republican” (http://goo.gl/UcMzcS).

WALKER DOCS RELEASED: POLITICO’s Elizabeth Titus looks at the new documents from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s office: “A former aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker appeared to suggest that he was involved in a secret email system where staffers blended official and campaign business, and another former aide passed along a derogatory email about religious and ethnic groups, according to documents released Wednesday. A court ordered the documents — which included some 27,000 emails from a convicted former aide to Walker — to become public, shedding light on a past probe of the Republican’s camp. Walker himself was never charged with any wrongdoing and has said he did not believe he was a target of the probe, which ended last year, but the release of the documents fueled Democratic hopes of embarrassing the potential 2016 presidential candidate.” http://goo.gl/0n8jvm

BREAKING THIS MORNING—NRCC GOES ON AIR IN NY-01: The National Republican Congressional Committee is going on the air against incumbent Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop, calling him too corrupt for Washington. “Here’s the story on Tim Bishop: Bishop agreed to help a constituent obtain government permits. Then days later asked for thousands in cash. Bishop did the favor, then got the cash. FBI agents have investigated Bishop’s actions. An ethics panel found substantial reason to believe he committed a crime," the ad says. "Corruption, federal investigations. Tim Bishop’s everything that is wrong with Washington." The buy is fairly small, just $15,000, and will run on cable for 10 days. Watch: http://goo.gl/xOA2Nq

THE NEWEST SCOTT BROWN TEA LEAVES: To run or not to run? That is the question still facing former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, whose flirtation with a New Hampshire Senate bid continues. But the latest news, that he’s renewed his contract as a Fox News commentator, sheds doubt on the prospect of a Senate bid this year. Originally, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday morning that Brown hadn’t renewed his contract; however, both Brown and Fox News denied the report and confirmed that he’s sticking with the network going forward. If Brown really were planning to run for Senate, he’d need to end his agreement with Fox—so Wednesday’s news on this front suggests the GOP pol is planning to stay out of public office, at least for now. http://goo.gl/1KaD2p

DALLAS BIDS FOR ’16 GOP CONVENTION: Add another city to the list of places where we could all be spending a week in summer 2016. Dallas is officially bidding for the GOP convention, the city’s host committee announced Wednesday, making it the sixth city to overtly vie for the gathering. At the RNC Winter Meeting last month, five cities—Las Vegas, Kansas City, Denver, Columbus and Phoenix—had a strong presence and worked to woo members. Proposals are due to the RNC by the end of the month and a city will likely be chosen by late spring or early summer. While Dallas doesn’t exactly have the same swing-state appeal that a Vegas, Denver or Columbus would, it’s in a state with rapidly changing demographics that Democrats hope will be competitive for them down the line; holding the RNC in Dallas would signify that, at least for the time being, Texas is still Republican territory. http://goo.gl/MG4kyG

-PA-Gov: GOP Gov. Tom Corbett released his first reelection campaign video, featuring him speaking about what he’s accomplished in the commonwealth. http://goo.gl/wndmJU

-AZ-Gov: State Treasurer and former Cold Stone Creamery CEO Doug Ducey, a Republican, will run for the governor’s mansion. http://goo.gl/s6824F

CODA—QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I can’t help it; I have to hug.” —Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, in a Washington Post profile on his bid to become governor again http://goo.gl/xLLQoT

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